Racks for storing various types of objects are well known in the art. Examples of such storage devices ranges from simple book racks consisting of a flat shelf to the self-actuating record jacket holders described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,446,360 and 3,712,477.
Racks for storing cardboard phonograph jackets have used a variety of techniques to achieve either simple storage, or a combination of storage and display. Virtually all, if not all, of these devices have required that the phonograph record being displayed be placed in a substantially vertical orientation to avoid undesired displacement of the record being stored or displayed. Examples of such display apparata include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,889,812; 3,716,145; 3,897,871; 3,812,975; and 3,869,045.
While some of these devices have involved pivotable support members to allow a customer or user to thumb through the records, the pivot arrangements have in general been unduly complex while at the same time providing inefficient use of the available space and failing to adequately protect against mechanical damage to the displayed objects resulting from stress points caused by the supporting members or undesirable contact between the records themselves.
The concepts involved in the phonograph record display have in some instances been carried over to cassette tapes, as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,620. However, the storage device shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,620 again requires substantially a vertical storage position as well as suffering from other limitations. Moreover, none of the designs of the prior art have been adapted to provide for storage of compact audio discs.
In view of these and other limitations of the prior art, there has been a need for a storage and display rack capable of safely supporting a plurality of compact audio discs or other similar objects. In addition, there has been a need for a display rack capable of supporting such objects in a substantially horizontal orientation.